Northwest Iowa — This Thursday, November 5th, is Iowa’s Winter Weather Awareness Day. The day was created to help prepare you for the season ahead.
While we have already had some wintery weather, the bulk of the snow, ice, and windchills are ahead of us. Our area of northwest Iowa is covered by the Sioux Falls office of the National Weather Service. The Warning Coordination Meteorologist at that office is Peter Rogers. He gives us some things to keep in mind as winter approaches.
One of the big impacts during wintery weather is how it affects driving and getting from place to place, says Rogers.
The Iowa Department of Transportation says a winter survival kit for your vehicle should contain a blanket or sleeping bag; high energy, nonperishable food; water; a flashlight and extra batteries; matches or a lighter; candles; warm gloves; a small first aid kit; hat or stocking cap; insulated footwear; and winter coat. The kit should contain enough supplies for the number of passengers in the vehicle.
Other winter travel supplies should include a snow shovel; scraper and snow brush; sand or strips of carpet for traction; flares and/or reflectors; a tool kit; jumper cables; and a good spare tire, a lug wrench, and a jack.
As far as the National Weather Service is concerned, Rogers says they will be keeping you informed in the event of a winter storm.
An interesting side note — while a blizzard sounds like a snow event, Weather Service officials tell us that no snow actually needs to be falling for a blizzard warning to be issued. A blizzard is characterized more by strong winds and lack of visibility. The official definition is blowing and/or falling snow with winds of at least 35 mph, reducing visibilities to a quarter of a mile or less for at least three hours. They tell us that winds lofting the current snow pack and reducing visibilities without any falling snow is called a ground blizzard.
